David Njoku's time with the Cleveland Browns has officially come to an end. Kevin Stefanski's departure may have sealed his fate, but the writing was already on the wall with Harold Fannin Jr.'s impressive rookie season.
It seemed that he was going to sign an extension after the Browns refused to trade him at the deadline. However, Njoku announced on his Instagram account Monday that he's going to test the free agency waters this offseason:
"The time for me to find a new home has come and all I can think of is just the gratefulness in my heart. The city of Cleveland will forever be home," the nine-year veteran wrote on the caption.
David Njoku's departure is bad news for the Browns' salary cap
Emotions aside, Njoku's farewell will impact the team way beyond his locker room leadership. As pointed out by Spotrac founder Michael Ginnitti, the Browns will now have to take $24.3M in dead cap hits.
Per Ginnitti, the Browns will treat him as a post-June 1 release, meaning they'll take a dead-cap hit of $9.534 million in 2026 and $14.797 million in 2027. The move would allow the Browns to avoid dead-cap charges in excess of $24 million on their 2026 cap number.
The Browns added void years, which act only as placeholders, to spread out the signing bonus over multiple years. When the contract voids and the player becomes a free agent, the signing bonus that has yet to hit the team’s cap accelerates onto the current cap. This can leave a… https://t.co/fNGNwWvJNo
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) February 10, 2026
Njoku is a free agent, but his pending cap charges stem from bonuses that have already been paid out. The Browns could've spread that money out over more years if they had given him an extension. But now that he's no longer expected to be on the roster, that money will now have to hit the books.
Notably, the Browns are already on the hook for $31.7 million (and counting) in dead money this offseason. They're paying $12.1 million for Dalvin Tomlinson, $5.6M for Juan Thornhill, $4.75M for Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, $2.7M for Joe Tyron-Shoyinka, $2.7M for Dustin Hopkins, $1.97M for Jordan Hicks, $1.3M for Joe Flacco, and $162K for Jamari Thrash. That number could grow depending on what the team decides to do with Wyatt Teller, Jack Conklin, and others.
According to Over The Cap, the Browns are projected to have roughly $3.2 million in available cap space, ranking 21st in the league. However, they can clear up a little over $35 million by restructuring Deshaun Watson's gargantuan contract yet again.
Losing Njoku will be a blow to a Browns team that will probably look to get multiple tight ends on the field with Todd Monken, just like he's done in most of his teams. Then again, with Isaiah Likely set to become a free agent as well, it would be shocking if the Browns didn't go all-in to try to lure him to Northeast Ohio.